The Ninjago Hunger Games
by firedancerforever
Summary: The title says it all. This is a Hunger Games AU of Ninjago, in which our five heroes (Cole, Jay, Zane, Kai, and Nya (Lloyd has a different role)) are tributes in this year's annual Hunger Games tournament! Only one can remain, so may the odds be ever in your favor.
1. Black as Cole

It had all happened so fast. Too fast for his liking. In fact, just now he had awoken with a start, shaking and confused as to why he was not in his own room back home. It had taken a few minutes for him to remember where he was and why he was here.

His name was Cole. He was from Disctrict 12, the world's Main source of coal. In fact that was why his mother had chosen his name, as if being from the poorest district wasn't embarrassing enough, his name screamed it out for the world to know. Of course that had never mattered before, because he was stuck in 12. The only things that left his home district were coal and tributes for the Hunger Games.

Oh yeah. That was why he was here. Here was a train rushing at the speed of light toward the Capitol, and he was this year's male tribute from 12 for the Hunger Games.

So much had happened yesterday that everything was one huge blurry mess in his mind. He and some random girl had been picked, their names drawn out of a huge bowl and read for the whole district to hear. He didn't know the girl on the train with him. He had never met her before. But that didn't really matter, did it? Only one person out of twenty-six would be alive when this was all over, and whether or not he was that person, he would never remember that girl's name.

He didn't really plan on winning either. That meant nothing to him. The winner would be the trophy of the Capitol, the only living child to walk away with nothing more than a worthless crown and the promise that they would never be called back into the arena. To be honest he would rather die in there than die out in the hostile coal mines of District 12.

But he hardly had a family to go back to if he won. His mother had died long ago of a disease so terrible he was not allowed to say goodbye or to hold her hand as she left him forever for fear of him catching the disease. And his father. Cole had no intention of returning to him. In the three minutes they had together before Cole and the nameless girl were herded onto the train, he and his father stood there in silence, the latter giving his son the usual stern look of disappointment that he'd worn for longer than Cole could remember. When they were given a thirty second warning, his father cleared his throat abruptly, gave Cole a rough pat on the shoulder, and grumbled something along the lines of "Don't let me down now, son." Cole had so many things he had wanted to say in response, but he was dragged away before he could decide which words to use.

And now he might never have the chance to say them. He supposed that was for the better. Soon enough none of this would matter anymore. Soon, he might see his mother again.


	2. BlueJay

"Now you be careful out there, kiddo. Come back to us in one piece, okay?"

The last thing he remembered was the comfort he felt in his mother's arms, feeling her shaking violently as she wept, the sadness in his father's bright blue eyes, being blinded by his own sandy orange hair as his bangs fell in front of his eyes. And then he sucked in a deep breath of cold air and jolted upward, the tears that had pooled up in his eyes now streaming down his face.

"I promise," he whispered to his parents that no longer stood in front of him. "I will win this. I'll come back. I promise."

The real world was slowly fading back into existence now, or at least fading back into his perception. He was beginning to see all the shades of blue surrounding him, from the deep blue of his blankets that reminded him of the sea to the sky-colored walls to the embroidered birds that hovered on the tapestry on the wall above his bed that read his name for all who entered his room to see. Jay.

He couldn't tell if the birds were meant to poke fun at his name or if the designers of his room just really liked mockingjays or something. Then again he thought the birds looked a little too small to be mockingjays. And the blue everywhere? Yeah, they were probably supposed to be normal blue jays. They were a nice touch though.

But he was from District 5. Birds weren't the most common occurrence where he was from. Instead they were suppliers of power to the rest of Ninjago. That was why it had been such a quick train ride to the Capitol. They were the first takers of power, so they were right next door so that no one could steal the electricity before it got to them. Jay figured he could have walked there if it was legal to simply walk between the borders.

The ride was so short that he hadn't gotten enough time to get to know his mentor, or the girl that had been chosen from 5 for that matter. To be honest he couldn't even remember their names, and he wondered if he'd even asked about their names. He decided that would be his mission for today since they were still waiting for the rest of the tributes to arrive, and they couldn't start training or anything until all of them got to the Capitol.

Jay slowly got up and pushed the warm covers away from himself, shivering a little in the sudden cold. Opening his closet, he was surprised when it wasn't stuffed with Capitol-esque clothes, bright and sparkly and covered in weird decorations that looked like murder to pay for and keep nice. Instead he found a few simple outfits, jeans and soft-looking shirts with different sleeve lengths, plain shoes that didn't look particularly comfortable, and the outfit that everyone was supposed to wear during training. The fancy outfits for all of the ceremonies were probably going to come later.

Though he was starting to warm up again, Jay pulled on a long sleeved shirt and let the ends of the sleeves fall over his hands so that only the tips of his fingers poked out. It wasn't too thick, but at least it was warmer than before. And it was loose, almost too big for him. Didn't these people understand that the kids from 5 aren't exactly the biggest and strongest people? Oh well. The smallest people in general were from 3 anyway, unless of course some poor eleven- or twelve-year-old had been chosen.

When Jay stood in front of the mirror in an attempt to make himself relatively presentable, sleepy blue eyes and untidy hair stared back at him. "Screw that," he muttered to himself. His hair was going to be a lost cause until he showered, and he was too hungry to bother with that just yet. The girl from his district and their mentor would just have to deal with his lazy look for now.


	3. Frost

District 3 was long behind them, but Zane continued to sit in the very back of the train, one leg pulled up under himself so that he could stare out the back window more comfortably. He had been told all his life to never dwell on the past, to always look forward and prepare for the future. And ever since he had gotten amnesia, it was all he could do. How could one dwell on the past when he could not remember it?

To be perfectly honest, he was not even sure of his age. But the government kept track and continued to enter his name for each year's reaping. He was tall with a deep voice, and because he figured he was no younger than seventeen or eighteen, he had hoped that this year would be his last to worry about the Hunger Games, and he was right, but not in the way he had expected. Instead of being passed over for the last time, his name had been called and now he would either never return or go home a hero. It did not matter to him either way.

Zane remembered faint dreams, nothing more than discolored blurs that lasted for only a few seconds at a time. The same man appeared in each one, at least Zane thought he was the same man. He had no defined features, just the same white lab coat and reflective glasses. The doctors had told him that these flashes might be bits of memories still stored in his subconscious, memories from before the amnesia hit. They said there was no way to extract those memories on command, but they could tell him that this man he was seeing was probably his father. But that was all. There was no more information about his past that anyone knew about. A few years ago he had just wandered into the town that he had eventually come to call home, with nothing but plain white clothes that had faded from long days without shelter and a leather bracelet with the name Zane intricately embroidered on it.

Now he was leaving in the same way. He figured that he had spent enough time looking ahead and that once he got to the arena he would have nothing to do but live in the present. So for now he would push away the guilt he felt for dwelling on the past.


	4. Burning Love

"I volunteer!"

Kai blinked. His head spun around and he felt a sickening feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. Sure enough, the crowd of teenage girls parted to reveal the one who had called out. At once the look of determination in her dark brown eyes turned to fear, a look which she quickly covered by raising her head high and flipping the long jet black hair she kept in a loose ponytail over her shoulder. She was smaller than most of them, and not very curvy, but you could tell just by looking at her that she was strong, a perfect "career" tribute. But young. She was so young. Fourteen, to be exact.

And how was it that Kai knew this when District 2 was one of the most populous in Ninjago? Because she was his sister.

"What is your name, love?" asked the man who stood up on the stage. He tossed the slip of paper that read the name of some other girl back into the bowl as the small girl took timid steps toward the stage, though she kept trying to look determined.

When she opened her mouth, all that came out at first was a whisper, but she quickly recovered by clearing her throat. "Nya Kajiya."

The man laughed. "I think someone's a little nervous. Come on up here, Nya, and we'll choose the boy to join you in the Capitol."

She nearly tripped on the stairs up to the stage, and with every step she took Kai felt his hands shaking more and more, and by the time she stood in front of everyone with her head held high, he was amazed he hadn't vomited yet.

The man swirled his hand around in the bowl before finally plucking a slip of paper from one corner. He held it up to read the name, but when he opened his mouth Kai mustered up every bit of courage he had left and practically screamed.

"I volunteer as tribute!"

When the other boys parted around him, he tried to avoid looking at his sister's face. He knew she would be shocked, angry, sad. It was bad enough that he felt the same way when he heard her voice, he didn't want to feel it again when he saw those same emotions on her face. He walked forward, keeping his eyes on the man from the Capitol that had been sent to read names. As he climbed the stairs, the man asked for his name.

He took a deep breath. "Kai Kajiya."

"Kajiya?" The man looked back and forth between Kai and Nya as the former took his place on the stage. "Didn't you say that was your last name, love?" he asked Nya. Kai assumed she nodded, because a second later the announcer looked back at the crowd and said excitedly, "This is unprecedented! A brother and sister in the same competition! Extraordinary! Oh, I would ask what your reasons are for volunteering in the same year, but I'm sure we'll hear all about it when you get to the Capitol! I can't wait!"


	5. Gold

"Lloyd, where have you put the remote?"

The young boy's face began to turn red. "What do you mean, Uncle? I haven't seen it. I had to turn on the TV manually."

"Lloyd."

He sighed. "Please let me watch! They're already announcing the tributes from District 10, it'll be over soon!"

Uncle Wu looked sternly down at Lloyd. "You know how I feel about the Hunger Games. They are vulgar and uncivilized, and they are precisely the reason why your mother took you to live here, away from your father."

"Uncle, please! I want to know about them, I want to know why you and Mom hate them so much."

The TV clicked off suddenly, making Lloyd jump a little. "Because your father permits the Games to continue, twenty-three children die every year. And because he is Ninjago's Lord, only he can call them off. The best we can do is prevent you from watching children your age brutally murder each other until the lone survivor is crowned the victor and forced to live with the glorious shame forever." Lloyd's mother stood in the doorway, the remote control in her hand.

Lloyd groaned. "That was my best hiding spot," he muttered.

"I don't think you quite understand, son. Wu and I are just trying to keep you safe."

He crossed his arms and slumped back on the sofa. "I'm safer than all the kids who have to go into the arena every year. I don't have to have my name put into a bowl every time I need more food. I don't have to stand in a huddle with my friends and desperately hope that I don't hear someone call my name. I'll never go inside the arena, I'll never have to watch other kids who are bigger and stronger than me try to kill anyone that I know. Instead I'm stuck here trying to find out why."

* * *

"You're sure you want to do this?" Brad asked as he looked at the intricate design Lloyd had given him. A beautiful gold dragon with green eyes and a line of green down its side.

Lloyd nodded. "I've wanted it for a long time. And I'm tired of Mom and Uncle Wu censoring out the world. I just want something to be my choice for once, you know?"

"Why do I get the feeling this isn't just about a cool-looking tattoo?"

Silence.

"Lloyd, you know you don't have to do this just because you want to rebel against your family. Is this about your dad?"

"Just give me the damn dragon, Brad!"

"Okay, okay. Sorry. Just trying to understand."

Lloyd winced when he felt the needle on his shoulder at long last. "I don't even understand anymore. I just thought it would be pretty cool. Plus I'm sick of living in the Capitol and looking like I live in the Districts."

He could hear the bubbly grin appear on his friend's face. "Well if you want a more Capitol-esque look, I've got some really nice eyeliner that would totally match the ink I'm using for your tattoo. It's really thin so you won't even feel it but wow does it shine. Especially in the sunlight, I find."

"Maybe some other time. You know how Mom and Uncle Wu are about Capitol styles."

"Capitol anything, really," Brad scoffed. "And I can't believe they don't let you watch the Hunger Games! It's horrible!"

Lloyd paused. "Wait, Brad."

The needle was pulled away. "Changed your mind?"

"No, no. Keep going."

"Oh good. It's looking good so far, it'd be a shame to stop now."

"You watch the Games every year, right?"

"Of course!" Lloyd, you and your family are pretty much the only people who don't. Even the poor people in the outlying districts like 11 and 12 watch it!"

"Do...do you think I could come over when we're done here to watch?"

"Absolutely!"


	6. The Phoenix

Nya walked up to the doorway and heard the metallic _whoosh_ as it opened. Near the middle of the train car was her brother, sitting at the windowsill and staring out into the world that sped by too fast to see any details. As she took silent steps closer to him, she could see his eyes full of tears that he refused to let fall.

"Kai?"

"What. Were. You. _Thinking?_"

She took a step back as one tear escaped and rolled down to cling to his jaw. Nya could have sworn she saw a bit of steam rise from it. There were rumors in the village they lived in that she and Kai spent so much time near the fire in their blacksmith shop that the two of them were immune to the flames and emitted their own heat. She had been close enough to burning coals that she would have believed it if her brother didn't have two long burn marks down the side of his face from an accident when they were little.

"Hey," she said, trying her best not to sound as timid as she felt, "it's not my fault you volunteered too!"

At that, he stood and faced her, his light brown eyes burning with rage. She took another step back, this time allowing the fear to consume her. "Why did _you_ volunteer? You can't even face me when I'm pissed off! You'll never survive in there! You'll never get out of there alive without my help!"

Nya had opened her mouth to get mad in return, but her voice was chocked back by a lump that arose in her throat at Kai's last sentence. She swallowed and when she opened her mouth again, she couldn't help the wavering in her voice. "W-what?"

Kai looked down, then he sat on the windowsill again. "I'm not going to just sit around back home, watching these dumb Games and waking up every morning hoping nothing hurt you or killed you while I wasn't watching. I couldn't just let them ship you off with only three minutes to say what might have been our last words to each other."

"Kai..."

"I'm not going to leave your side, Nya."

"Kai, only one person can make it out alive."

He paused, another tear spilling. "I know. I volunteered to make sure that one person will be you."

She felt her breath catch. Why the emotional response was just now hitting her, she had no idea. Why else would he have volunteered? She had known all along, but she couldn't bear to allow herself to believe it.

Nya sat next to him, close enough to lay her head on his shoulder. But as soon as she did, he faced her again and pulled her into the tightest hug he had ever given her. After a few seconds of initial shock, she wrapped her arms around him as well and could feel him shaking slightly as he finally let his tears fall.

"I was ready, though," she whispered. "I could have done it alone."

"Maybe you could have," Kai said between muffled sobs. "But I wasn't about to just stand by and watch you do it alone."

She forced herself to smile. "That's why people form teams, stupid."

"Yeah well only one is gonna make it in the end. Eventually, your teammates would have turned on you. I won't. I'm going to protect you until you're that last person standing. I promise. I can't stand the thought of losing you."

_How do you think I feel?_ Nya thought to herself as her tears began to fall as well.


	7. Capitol Chariots

Lloyd never realized how long the process was before the Games actually began. After the day they announced all of the tributes, it was nearly a week before they all arrived in the Capitol, and even then he had to wait until after the sun had set before going to Brad's house to watch them all ride majestically in on shiny chariots. Apparently they spent the whole day getting ready for this, meeting with stylists and getting special outfits made for them and being made to look presentable by Capitol standards. On top of that, each district had its own special export, and the outfits were usually based on those. Brad only seemed to be excited about the tributes from District 1, the suppliers of luxury materials and precious stones. But Lloyd was curious to see how the stylists were going to make the outlying districts look glamorous. They would be the last to come out on their chariots, so they would have to look amazing in order to catch people's attention.

At last the two boys were sitting together on the sofa, Lloyd fighting the urge to wince and grab onto his tattooed shoulder when a bolt of pain ran through it as he sat. The TV was on, the channel was set so that Ninjago's flag covered the screen, and after a minute or so it faded to the official announcers grinning brilliantly and standing in front of a bird's eye view of the long street that the tributes would ride in through. The national anthem began to play, and the first chariot began to glimmer in the sudden light as it came out of the tunnel.

* * *

Nya made sure to stay close to her brother once they went in the tunnel to make final changes to outfits and makeup before getting on the chariots and being presented to the world. The clothes she saw people in looked extravagant, beautiful, but it was a deadly kind of beauty. The colors were too bright, the glitter too sparkly, and the tributes all looked scared stiff.

"Keep your head up, Nya," Kai whispered, holding her hand a little tighter. She could feel him sweating nervously. But he was better at hiding his fear than she was, and she could see a burning fire in his eyes as they weaved their way to their chariot. "We're from District 2. They all saw us volunteer. You can't show them that you're afraid, or they'll see you as an easy target before the Games even start. You want them to fear you."

She nodded, the word _fear_ echoing endlessly in her mind, but probably not in the way Kai had intended.

Her long red skirt flowed loosely around her legs, and she nearly tripped on it more than once. She and Kai were dressed up as ancient warriors, with the armor of the samurai that had long ago protected Ninjago. Thought she had been excited to hear that, the actual costumes were a real disappointment to her. The gold and black armor over their torsos would never protect them in a real fight, and their lack of helmets made her feel unbalanced and exposed. And her brother had more armor than she did, to make her more feminine and beautiful, their stylists said. And she hated the most how they reflected every light pointed at them. It was all so unnatural.

By the time they reached their chariot, despite Kai's efforts to keep her out of everyone else's way, she had accidentally bumped into at least three other tributes, most of them grumbling at her but too nervous themselves to get too upset. One of them apologized to her and when she glanced up she caught a glimpse of sparkling blue to bright that the boy's costume practically had a light of its own. But Kai pulled her away again before she managed to see his face. The only detail she managed to catch on his clothes were bright yellow lightning bolts scattered amongst the blue. She couldn't decide if he was from 5 or 3, but she figured it wouldn't really matter in the long run anyway.

* * *

"Hey, are you alright?"

Jay blinked and pulled himself out of his little trance. "Yeah," he said quickly. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You just got bumped by the girl from District 2. Are you sure-"

"I'm fine," he repeated, giving a look to the girl from his district. Camille, he learned her name was. "I think it was an accident."

"She's a career tribute. She was probably trying to make you nervous."

Jay shook his head, a few sparkles of yellow glitter falling out of his hair. "I think she's more nervous than I am."

"Why would she be nervous?" Camille asked, climbing into the chariot with difficulty from her heavy dress. "Everyone saw her volunteer."

Jay reached up to help her balance long enough to stand again. "Yeah, but did you see how short she was? She's no taller than me."

She laughed. "You're right. Being taller than you is no real feat. You'll never last when we get into the arena. At least that girl will make it through the blood bath with that brother of hers to protect her."

"Her brother?"

"Seriously, Jay. Did you even watch the reaping? Come on, the chariots are going to roll out soon."

He shook his head again and took her hand to climb into the chariot with her, the layers of flashy sequins on his costume threatening to pull him down. Her brother? Didn't they know only one could walk out alive? And was Camille suggesting _he_ wouldn't survive the blood bath? He was clever, he knew that someone of his size and strength was supposed to run away and hide instead of getting distracted by the weapons and tools in the massive cornucopia. This was as much a game of wit as strength. He was also smart enough to know that he would never last long on his own, even if he did survive the blood bath. He would need to find someone. Someone strong, but someone he could trust. Someone who could benefit from his brain as much as he would benefit from their brawn. But someone who would eventually get beaten out so that Jay wouldn't have to worry about trying to fight them himself at the end.

When he finally got his balance back, Jay began to look around to find a partner. Any of the careers were terrible choices. The boys from 1 and 2 were both strong, but too strong and couldn't be trusted. The girl from 1 was more pretty than anything with her bright green eyes and long red hair, and now that the girl from 2 was in her chariot he could see how nervous she really looked. Besides she had her brother to protect her. She was he out of his league-the picture! Way out of the picture. Jay cleared his throat nervously and continued down the line in front of him. The boy from 3 was tall, and definitely one of the oldest tributes. Poor guy probably had his name drawn in his last year of being entered. But he looked far from strong, and the people in District 3 were better known for being smart. If this was to be a symbiotic partnership, Jay needed someone who was the opposite of that guy.

He twisted around as much as he could to look at 6 and below. None of them looked like what he wanted until he got down to the outliers, the districts that supplied grain and meat and other necessities that most people didn't think much about. The guy from 8 didn't look bad. He wasn't very tall, but he definitely looked strong. The guy from 11 wasn't terrible either, at least he looked tough with that grumpy look.

Then Jay's eyes fell on the tributes from 12 at the very back of the line. They were both young, much more so than most of the tributes. The girl didn't look like much, but the boy almost looked strong enough to be a career tribute. But he couldn't be. He was from District 12, and honor had no place in their vocabulary. In fact, Jay couldn't remember the last time a tribute from 12 had won the Games. That boy could go far, but he probably didn't have his sights set on winning.

_Perfect_, Jay said to himself with a little grin. The chariot lurched forward and he turned back around and held his head high. He could win this thing. At least he was going to try. He had promised his parents after all.

* * *

She bumped him hard with her elbow and he cringed. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Look," Ash, the girl from his district, said as she pointed discreetly ahead of them.

Cole followed her line of sight to see the line of tributes in front of them, all standing in their brightly colored costumes, ready to ride out in their chariots. "Look at what?"

"The boy from District 5. He's looking at you."

"So? You're looking at him. Big deal."

"He's been looking for a while."

"Okay," he said with a shrug. "What does it matter? It's not like we can do anything about it. Do you want me to get down and march up there and tell him to stop?"

She folded her arms over her chest. "I'm just saying. I'd be careful about him. People from 3 and 5 are all really smart, and 5 is one of the wealthiest districts."

"Be careful," he repeated. "Around a tiny little kid? How old is he, thirteen?"

She shook her head. "I'd say he's closer to fifteen."

Cole sighed. "Whatever. He won't last long in a fight."

The gate at the end of the tunnel opened and the chariots began to move forward. As they did, Cole took one last glance at the tributes in front of them. It wouldn't be a bad idea to have a little team toward the beginning. Obviously only one could remain, but if he had someone who was good with nature and machines, someone who was smart enough to survive, Cole figured he might be able to last longer. Not like he expected to win, but he figured it was human nature to try to survive.

A little guy from 5 wasn't going to be the best idea though. Cole decided he would be better off trying to team up with someone from District 3. They were generally smarter, at least in terms of technology. Really, the environment of the arena would decide who he would want to choose to help him with survival skills. Their chariot began to move, and he decided there were more important things to focus on at the moment.

* * *

There was Lord Garmadon, standing up at the podium as they all rode in. Whatever stories Zane had heard back home about this man no longer mattered. Garmadon was, in a single phrase, worn out. He was tall, but leaned heavily on a fancy walking stick that was all black with a pearly white skull for a handle. Even from this distance Zane could see the dark circles that stood out against the man's pale face, and the redness that stained the edges of his eyes. There were streaks of white in his gray hair, and he was so thin that lanky that he looked like a skeleton in a suit.

When at last the chariots came to a stop in front of the tall podium and the anthem came to and end, Lord Garmadon raised a hand in the air and the crows around them quieted down.

Zane could never remember what the old man had said when he opened his mouth to speak. He had always had this problem, part of his amnesia he supposed. Sometimes he would space out and all his senses would go dead and he could never remember later. But he knew that something had happened. It was like a big blank space in his memory. Though of course, important things usually happened when he spaced out. He asked the girl from his district later about what Garmadon had said, and she told him as they went to change out of their robot costumes that he had said something about welcoming them and appreciating their sacrifices and their bravery, and she also said that none of it was important.

The important stuff would apparently come tomorrow when training began.

* * *

Sacrifice.

The word echoed again and again and refused to silence. The sound of Lord Garmadon's voice rang through his head and shot scalding arrows of pain through his entire body. By the time he and Nya got back up to their rooms, he felt sick to his stomach and weak with physical pain. He went straight to his room and laid on the bed, wincing at the contact with the soft red covers. Everything was too warm, even now that his plastic samurai armor was off and he was in too much pain to find something else to wear.

This was real. He was really going to do this. But at this point he was no longer worried about what would happen to Nya after this was all over. If his plan really did work and she won, she would become the face that the Capitol would love and that the rest of the world would hate. The snobby rich people out here would worship her and put her face on everything until next year's Games. and even then they would remember her. But the people in the Districts would despise her. They would scream at her during the victory parade, cursing her for being the lone survivor, asking why she lived when their children did not.

But what if she didn't win? What if he died too early and she had no one to protect her? She would never make it on her own. "Don't think about it, Kai," he said to himself. "You've survived this long without thinking about it. You'll be fine. It's going to be fine. She's going to make it."

"Kai?"

He shot up with a start, trying not to groan in pain afterward. "Nya. I...I didn't hear you come in."

She let go of the doorknob and took a few timid steps before sitting on the bed next to him. "I guess my sneakiness is going to come in handy soon, isn't it?" She smiled forcefully.

Kai sighed. "I guess so," he said after a few seconds of holding his breath, trying to decide on what to say. "Nya..."

"You don't have to say anything, Kai. You and I both know you've run out of actually important things to say. It's going to be fine. Tomorrow we start training and we'll meet the other tributes. Maybe we can get some allies before going into the arena."

"No," he said forcefully. "I'm not trusting anyone else with your life. Don't talk to anyone during training, okay? Promise me."

"Okay, okay. I'm just saying it might help our chances."

"Promise."

"Fine. I promise."

He sighed, though he wasn't quite relieved. If he knew his sister, she was going to try and make friends with everyone. And she was so sweet that other people might just like her, and that would be good when it came to sponsors, but he didn't like the idea of her getting too friendly with the other tributes.

Nya rested her hand on his shoulder. "You should get some rest to be ready for tomorrow. Enjoy the soft bed while you can." When he looked up, he saw her smiling weakly. "It won't last long."


	8. Training

Cole rubbed his eyes when he heard knocking and Ash's voice coming from outside his door. "Cole! Get up! It's the first day of training, you don't want to be late!"

He sighed and sat up, shivering a little when the covers fell off of him. "What if I don't want to go to training?" he grumbled, getting up anyway and finding the closet on the opposite wall. Inside were a few simple outfits, all loose black clothes. But he supposed the more breathable material of the short sleeved shirt was for training. The number 12 was printed in black on the back, as if it would be hard to identify him.

"Hurry up!" Ash called from outside.

"Don't rush me," he said, raising his voice a little but still sounding sleepy. "I'm getting dressed." Cole pulled the shirt off the hanger and slipped it on. It fit loosely, perfect for practicing...whatever it was he was going to be doing during training. Their mentor had advised against showing off their real skill while the other tributes were watching. Apparently it could be used against them, especially if the careers saw. They were to save their best skill for the last day of training, when each tribute went in alone before the judges to show off and get a score. No one would know what the skill was, only the number they were given by the judges. It would help get them sponsors though, which could very well save their lives when they got to the arena.

The tributes were all lined up together in a big cluster as they reached the doors to the room where they would all be training together. It was a big open space, metal floor and ceiling and walls, certain areas shut off by glass to practice different things. There were weapons and materials all laid out for them, even computers with giant screens for who knows what.

A lady in a white coat stood between them and the closed glass doors. "Remember," she was saying, "though you'll all be trying to kill each other in the arena later, many of you won't be killed by each other. The environment in the arena is as dangerous as your competitors, and you'll actually have a bigger chance of dying from natural causes, poison, dehydration, deadly animals, and the like. That being said, I would recommend trying your skills with plants and tools before the weapons. Good luck."

She stepped aside, the doors opened, and at once the tributes from 1 and 2 all darted to the far end of the training facility and grabbed their favorite weapons. He rolled his eyes and decided not to head in that direction first. Instead he began to wander, trying to decide what he wanted to fail at first. Somehow he ended up sitting in the corner, fiddling with a little device that supposedly showed him different types of plants, which ones were poisonous and which ones were edible. But he couldn't figure out how it worked. He'd never been good with technology of any sort because District 12 barely had enough power to run their televisions long enough to watch the Games every year.

"You look like you could use a hand there."

Cole looked up. It was the boy from 5, the kid who had been looking at him before the parade yesterday. He was shorter than Cole had expected, and seemed way too cheery to be in a fight to the death.

"I think I can figure it out on my own," Cole said, looking back down at the device.

The kid sat next to him and reached over, clicking a little button on the side of the machine. "And that's how you choose the right answer," he said with a little smirk. "That one was safe."

"I knew which one was the right answer," Cole said, pulling away. "I just...don't like machines very much. Not my thing."

He'd hoped the guy would leave after that, but he was persistent.

"I'm good with machines. Maybe I could help."

"Don't you have some muscle to go build up? You're gonna need it."

The boy stopped. "I know. That's why I came to talk to you. I want to partner up. You know, be allies or something."

Cole nearly laughed. "Look, kid. You know only one can make it out of there, right? Besides, I have nothing to gain from teaming up with you."

"You sure about that?" He snatched the machine from Cole's hand and held it up tauntingly.

"So you're good with electronics. So what?"

"So admit it. You need my help. How else are you supposed to figure out how to open the doors to the weapons practice rooms?" The kid grinned proudly when he saw Cole glance at the doors. He was right. There was no way he could see to open them.

Cole growled and grabbed the device back. "Fine."

"Awesome!" the kid said happily. "I'm Jay."

"Cole."

* * *

"So what now?" Lloyd asked, following his friend around like a lost puppy.

Brad sighed sat down, tired of trying to lose Lloyd by wandering constantly around his house. "Now the tributes are in training. They'll be there for a while, getting ready for the Games and stuff. Apparently they don't train so much as find allies and start building teams. That's what really makes it interesting."

Lloyd frowned. "It doesn't seem very interesting yet."

"It will be once they get in the arena. But for now my parents said they'll sponsor one tribute for each of us, so we have to watch so we can choose wisely."

* * *

Yesterday hadn't been very eventful, particularly for Zane. Most people in District 3 were prodigies with technology and programming, and though he himself wasn't unskilled with computers, he was nowhere near the level expected of him. Nor was he strong or fast or anything that would prove useful in the future. Except that one tiny skill of his, which he wouldn't exactly call a skill. It was more of a sense. A sixth sense. A strange intuition that told him that everyone else around him was already forming teams and plotting against each other, leaving him out of the loop before they even entered the arena.

There was a large screen on one side of the training area, near the platform where the judges sat, and it read the name of all twenty-four tributes, with their pictures next to their names. And the only productive thing Zane had done yesterday was memorize each one, though it didn't take long.

As he looked around the room when he entered on the second day, with each face he saw he could immediately remember that tribute's name without having to think about it. The girl with bright red hair from District 1 was Skylar. Hardened gray eyes and thick metal gauntlets, that was Karlof from District 8. A thick white stripe through black hair and a dissociated yet focused look, District 4, Neuro. Red shades, District 6, Turner. 11, Bolobo. 7, Gravis. 4, Toxikita. 6, Shadow.

His thoughts were interrupted by two voices approaching him.

"I really don't think-"

"Hi! You're Zane, right?"

He turned around and looked at the voices' owners. One stood behind the other, his face resting in the palm of one hand, grumbling quietly to himself. District 12, Cole. The one in front was smiling contagiously and had a thin scar running down one side of his face. District 5, Jay.

"Yes." Why were they talking to him?

"You were looking lonely in your own little corner yesterday and I just was wondering if you might want to be part of our team? I take it you already know our names since you were staring at that scoreboard thing over there yesterday."

Cole looked up grumpily. "Jay, you can't just recruit people because they look lonely."

"What do you say?" Jay asked, ignoring his teammate. "We could use all the help we can get."

Zane looked around the room at everyone else. They were all sticking to their groups already. If he did join someone, anyone, he would have a greater chance at getting further in the Games. But was he really intending to win? The boys next to him were probably getting impatient with him and his thinking by now.

I have nothing to lose, he thought, turning back to Jay. "Of course."

Cole rolled his eyes and began to wander slowly toward a weapon rack. "This should be interesting."

* * *

Nya sat anxiously in front of the TV, the remote shaking in her hand as she waited for their numbers to be displayed. It was one of the most important parts of the Games, and Kai had advised her not to do her best until today. The judges were going to expect a lot from the both of them, so they had to do something amazing to get a good number, which meant sponsors, which could mean the difference between life and death in the arena.

Finally it was time. Kai had come to sit with her as they waited through two high numbers from District 1. The room went silent when Kai's face appeared on the screen. Ten. Most of them went up in cheers, and Nya looked happily at her brother, but he didn't seem entirely excited. In fact he looked sick to his stomach. But she didn't have time to say anything to him because it was only a second later that they were thrown into silence again as her face replaced his. It felt like time stopped. No one moved a muscle, not even the slight breeze on the other side of the window made a noise. Nya felt Kai's hand tighten around hers as the golden number faded into view. Eight.

"Not bad!"

"Don't worry, we can still work with it!"

"It's still a high number!"

It wasn't long before everyone else in the room began to talk excitedly amongst themselves in another corner of the room and Nya finally got up the courage to turn and face her brother.

"Kai-"

"They're right, you know," he said, his eyes still locked on the screen as the other tributes were displayed. The boy from 3 only got a score of five. "You did good."

"Yeah but you don't look particularly happy, and you did better than me."

They were showing District 4 now.

He sighed. "It's nothing."

Nya looked away from him, originally intending to look down at the floor but instead getting distracted by a new face on the TV. "Hey, I think that's the guy I ran into during the opening ceremony thing with the chariots and stuff. He was the only one who apologized to me instead of being grumpy or freaked out."

Kai nodded. "Yeah, that's the one. The guy from 5."

The number faded in next to his face. Seven. Then the girl from his district replaced him and Nya turned back to Kai.

"Pretty good for a kid like him, and you did better," he said, his eyes still on the screen. "See, I told you it was good."

"Kai."

He sighed and faced her, keeping his eyes averted.

"What's wrong? Really."

"There's not much time left until we go in." He took a deep breath, and for a moment there was silence because Nya knew he had more to say. "And I'm scared. We're not ready."

"I know." More silence, only interrupted every once in a while by obnoxious laughter from the other end of the room. "I'm sorry, Kai. I never meant for this to happen."

"What's done is done, Nya. All that's left to do is make the capitol love you during the interviews tomorrow, and you'll be fine." Without waiting for her to respond, he got up, leaving the remote on the couch, and went back to his room.

Nya picked up the remote and clicked the TV off just as they finished 11 and the number seven appeared next to the boy from District 12.

* * *

"You look nice."

Camille elbowed him hard, and Jay could have sworn she left a bruise in his arm. "Why don't you stare at one of the other girls instead?" she growled, straightening out the folds of her poofy skirt. It was all black and silky, patterned with lightning bolts that glowed the same bright purple as the corset sort of thing that made up the top of her dress. But she always made sure to give Jay a rough nudge whenever she noticed him admiring it.

"Would it make you feel better if I said I'm just looking at the dress?"

"No. Stare at someone else, I'm begging you. Just stop looking at me."

The screens in the hall flickered on, and the bright colors reflected off of every wall as the girl from District 1 was called up to do her interview, her bright red hair flowing behind her as she walked on screen with shimmering confidence. Jay kept folding and unfolding his hands nervously as she told a beautiful story about how her father used to be a gamemaker and that she wasn't worried because she had a feeling for how the Games usually worked. These interviews were really important. It wasn't about looking tough, it was about looking desirable and getting these Capitol people to develop feelings for you. But he wasn't sure how to do that. He wasn't good with people, he'd never had any real friends before. How could he make millions of people like him?

"Hey look," Camille said, nudging him again, though this time she was much more gentle. "It's that girl you like."

Jay felt his face turn red as the girl from 2 stepped onto the stage, looking as though she might be sick. It was the girl that had bumped into him a few days ago. He tried to say something to retort, but couldn't come up with anything better than "Shut up." He leaned against the wall, staring at his hands and trying to let himself space out enough to ignore Camille's snickering.

Her name was Nya. Her favorite color was blue (he felt himself blushing again when he heard her say it). And from what Jay could remember later, she had grown up in a more remote blacksmith village near the borders of District 2 with her brother Kai. When she was done, he replaced her on stage and said that there wasn't much to tell since Nya had already said almost everything. The only thing to add was that he planned on protecting her until the very end to ensure her victory. That one really brought tears to the audience, and for a minute Jay almost thought they were going to revolt. But they were easily calmed down by the girl from 3, a tiny blind girl with a stone cold expression and black hair in tight curls.

Soon Zane was called up. As he appeared on screen, he looked pale, which was really saying something. It didn't help that his suit was almost all white. When the announcer asked him about his past, he said he didn't know. Jay looked up, still tense but paying more attention when he realized he knew nothing about his future teammates.

"My memory only goes back a few years," Zane was saying. "I believe something incredibly traumatic happened to me, and since then I have had amnesia. I don't remember my family or anyone who might have been close to me." If this was supposed to be a sob story to get the people to like him, he was doing a terrible job with looking emotional. His face was as stoic as ever, and he sat perfectly upright. Jay resisted the urge to facepalm.

Three more tributes were called up, and before he even realized he was at the front of the line, Jay heard his name called and he felt a horrible sick feeling as he took shaky steps onto the stage. The lights nearly blinded him, and the crowd nearly deafened him. Everything was a blur and he wasn't sure what was going on, only that his body seemed to know what to do and acted of its own accord. Then things went silent. Millions of faces were looking at him, taking in his every movement, his every stutter as he tried to say something. He did the little giggle that he always made when he was nervous, and he heard it echo through the whole auditorium. Oh gosh that was so stupid. What are you doing? Get it together.

"So, Jay. What's your story?"

Say something. They're waiting.

"Hello?"

You'll be fine, Jay. You can do this. Make something up. Get them to like you. What would Mom and Dad say? He paused. Mom and Dad.

"I wish I could say I was here for the glory of winning like those people before me. But I don't really think I have much of a chance."

"Why is that?"

He made the giggle again, though he was sure this time he was a lot less nervous. "I think it's pretty obvious. There's no way I can beat all those guys, but I'm sure gonna try. I kinda promised my parents I'd come back to them in one piece."

* * *

His stomach was churning as he rose his hand to knock on the door. A reply came back a few long seconds later. "Kai?"

He took a deep breath. "Can I come in?"

Another few seconds, stretching to their most painful limits. "Yeah, the door's unlocked."

Kai opened the door with shaky hands and stepped inside. His sister was sitting on her bed, her long black hair in a loose braid down her back. She had already changed out of the beautiful flaming red dress she had been wearing earlier and was now in a simple tee and shorts. Without a word, he sat next to her and looked at the floor.

"We go in tomorrow," she said at long last.

"Yeah."

"Were you expecting another apology?"

"I wanted to apologize to you, actually. I'm sorry for getting on your case about this. I'm just scared and I keep hoping I'll wake up back home and that none of this ever happened."

"Kai, stop. Please. I just...I want to get some rest before going in that arena tomorrow."

"Will you stay with me?"

"What?"

Kai took another deep breath, daring to look her in the eyes. "Stay with me. No matter what happens, I want to be sure you're safe."

"I really think I can handle myself-"

"Nya, please."

She sighed, flipping her hair over her shoulder and pulling the braid out. "Okay. Okay, fine."

"Thank you." He paused before smiling a little and reaching up to touch a strand of her hair. "You know, you should probably get this cut off. It could get in your way out there."

"You think so?"

"Plus you'd look great with short hair."

Nya returned his smile and raised an eyebrow. "So what's this really about?"

"It's about making your survival easier. You won't have to worry about tying it back so it stays out of your way. Come on, I'll help!"

She stood up and went to her closet. "Oh no. There's no way I'm letting you put your sword to my hair. If I'm cutting it off, I'll do it myself and with a knife, not a katana."

Kai threw his hands up. "Okay fine! Do whatever you want. You don't have to cut it if you don't want, I'm just making suggestions. But if you want my expert opinion, I think it'd make you look older. More formidable." He stood as well and made his way toward the door, peeking back in before closing it behind him. "Good night."

She turned to face him and gave him a nod. "Good luck."


End file.
